South Carolina vs. Arkansas: After Further Review
Whenever a team you follow loses like South Carolina did yesterday, giving up 295 rushing yards while rushing for only 40 yards in your own right and turning over the ball three times in the fourth quarter, you want to keep the game out of sight and out of mind.
You want to delete your recording of the game from the DVR, you don't want to talk to family members who don't follow the team, and you most certainly don't want to listen to that one friend who pulls for a rival team and loves to bust your chops when they lose.
As is the case, however, with any game, there are always a few particular minuscule details that lead to the game's outcome, factors that could show recurring themes with your team, both positive and negative. I took it upon myself to go back and watch the game to find these little details that played a role in the Gamecocks losing their first SEC contest of the season.
The Kendal Briles Effect
The first thing that was clear even by the end of the first quarter regarded Arkansas' game plan for the running game and how they would try to keep the Gamecocks' defensive front off balance. Kendal Briles is the Razorbacks' offensive coordinator and is considered by most who follow the sport to be one of the brightest offensive minds in college football. To say he showcased that on Saturday would be an understatement.
Briles used multiple running concepts like zone reads, read options, run-pass options, jet sweeps, and QB power, amongst many others throughout the game. Combine the number of concepts with the frequent pre-snap motion that Briles used, and looking back, it was easy to see where things were headed.
South Carolina's box defenders became extremely hesitant to commit to any potential runner because they were worried about overcommitting and leaving an open hole for the actual ball carrier, which played right into Arkansas' hand and led to their big day on the ground.
Spencer Rattler's Struggling with the Offensive Scheme
To say Rattler isn't a talented thrower of the football would be an ignorant and naive statement, but to say that he needs more time to get in the flow of both this pro-style offense and SEC play is a different story. Rattler was a mixed bag on Saturday and showed why his transition from Lincoln Riley's Air Raid offense to Marcus Satterfield's Pro-style offense should've gotten more press this past offseason.
Unlike Riley's offensive scheme, Satterfield has an abundance of plays in his playbook and many more plays that require patience with the progression of the routes receivers are running while the QB sits back in the pocket.
Rattler continues to show inconsistencies in knowing how to maneuver the pocket. In Oklahoma's system, he always had a hot read coupled with an easy outlet, making his job easy from within the pocket.
There were multiple instances where Rattler had an underneath or check-down option wide open, but for some reason, he never got the ball to them. This could get better with more time, but with the number of weapons on that side of the ball, the Gamecock coaching staff should constantly emphasize to Rattler, "Utilize everything you have."
If Rattler cannot do this quickly enough, then the offense will continue to have up and down performances, and with how daunting the schedule looks, the Gamecocks can ill-afford to spend so much time hoping for this to change.
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